Thursday’s semifinal links

BYU vs. Texas 2 p.m. HST, Stanford-Penn State 4:30 p.m HST
Both on ESPN2

Game Center links available at
http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/volleyball-women/d1


COMMENTS

  1. OrbitalRipZ December 18, 2014 12:07 pm

    Like it did last year, the AVCA Awards Committee showed its hand concerning the likely National POY by releasing the following statement:

    “University of Texas outside hitter Haley Eckerman leads this year’s class earning AVCA All-American honors all four years. She becomes just the 26th player in AVCA history to garner four All-America awards in four years. Penn State’s Micha Hancock and Krista Vansant have taken home AVCA All-America honors three times. In total, 13 players have been awarded multiple times.” Eckerman is the 2013 Volleyball Magazine Player of the Year.

    John Dunning’s Seed 1 (led by Madi Bugg & Inky & Merete Lutz) vs. Jerritt Elliott’s Seed 2 (led by Eckerman and the #1 recruited class in 2011) into the Finals, imho. BTW: Acc. to PrepVolleyball, 2015’s #1 recruited class belongs to the Horns again.


  2. hatakeman December 18, 2014 1:00 pm

    Well, one hour till the start of the first match. Ready with my snack and drink.


  3. hatakeman December 18, 2014 1:04 pm

    Oh yeah, supporting BYU and Alohi Robins-Hardy to pull out the upset.


  4. Big Island VB fan December 18, 2014 2:09 pm

    Too bad I can’t watch the match live. You must have a TV subscription to be able to watch ESPN2 online. Only after the match one can watch ESPN3 replay which is not as good as watching live. Based on the length of the match one can predict the outcome after two or three sets. Not as much fun or suspense. Rats! I won’t read the blogs until after seeing both semifinals so I won’t learn in advance who won.


  5. bleachercoach December 18, 2014 2:31 pm

    Just imagine Alohi Robins Hardy, Snuka, Carly Kan, and Adora Anae, to name a few all stayed home. We could have truly an Hawaiian/Poly Hawaii team…A very good one indeed!!! Per capita Hawaii got the Best Athletes in the U.S.A….amazing!!!


  6. bleachercoach December 18, 2014 2:34 pm

    I knew all along from after last year’s lost to BYU that the lost wasn’t a fluke. Their block and just steady plays from last year is carrying over to this year. I will not be surprised if they beat Texas in 3 straight!


  7. bleachercoach December 18, 2014 2:36 pm

    Alohi sets has hit me all over it!
    Pretty nice!


  8. bleachercoach December 18, 2014 2:43 pm

    I can see Alohi becoming an All American candidate. She makes her setting look pretty effortless so far…


  9. bleachercoach December 18, 2014 2:51 pm

    It is much more comforting to know that’s how Emily Hartong and our girls lost. B’S block and great coaching is evident!!


  10. Kazu December 18, 2014 3:03 pm

    Every things working for BYU. Go Cougars !!


  11. bleachercoach December 18, 2014 3:16 pm

    I wonder if Coach Shoji can go to China or Africa and find a half decent 7’0″ or taller girl (s) to play for us.


  12. bleachercoach December 18, 2014 3:19 pm

    Yes Kamehameha!!!! Alohi Robins-Hardy!!
    Imua Imua a lanakila! Forward Forward to Victory!!!


  13. islandman December 18, 2014 3:39 pm

    4. –BI VB fan–I have HawaiianTel for internet and Oceanic for TV, but i can watch ESPN2 online .


  14. mei mei December 18, 2014 4:03 pm

    may i have the score pls. last i saw BYU was leading @ 2 sets … sorry i’m blocked at work and can’t access espn/ncaa sites, etc… thanks in advance!


  15. Andrew December 18, 2014 4:07 pm

    14.

    BYU wins in 4. set 4 ended 26-24


  16. wildcard December 18, 2014 4:08 pm

    damn texas got robbed! nothing worse when the up ref changes to the wrong call just immediately right after making the correct call.


  17. mei mei December 18, 2014 4:11 pm

    15 – thank you Andrew !


  18. bleachercoach December 18, 2014 4:15 pm

    BYU in 4 sets! Okay I said 3 sets but heck I said BY would be here. Now, I am changing my national championship winner to “UNSEEDED” BYU….”Y” NOT US is there slogan phrase and I believe they have a chance although I really think Stanford and Penn St. has more athletes than Texas. BYU may have to bring their block party to that match to get the other team out of rythmn. I am rooting for Alohi!!! You go girl!!


  19. Cubicle1126 December 18, 2014 4:18 pm

    hamson, gray and the byu block were impressive. they served texas off the court, and then the block did the rest.

    i don’t think i’ve seen haley eckerman this ineffective in a match …


  20. islandman December 18, 2014 4:28 pm

    They said that was only Robins-Hardy’s 2nd start and 5th or 7th match this season. Did they “bench” the previous starter ?

    It’s also the first time an unseeded team has reached the Finals and the first time for BYU in the finals or something like that.


  21. Kazu December 18, 2014 4:36 pm

    Right on, now Stanford needs to beat Penn. Once that is done we won’t have to hear about Texas and Penn.


  22. Sickman Fraud December 18, 2014 7:03 pm

    I bleed green as much as many of you on this blog but I gotta admit there is no way in hades that NaWahine will ever compete with the likes of Penn State. They’re so fricken athletic. I hope the NaWahine prove me wrong. I can’t believe I’m saying this, “Go Cougars”.


  23. islandman December 18, 2014 7:10 pm

    Monopoly, Penn State has won 5 of the last 7 NCAA championships.


  24. hatakeman December 18, 2014 7:49 pm

    I pick Penn St in the final. Russ Rose will pick the match-ups to run his offense behind Micah Hancock. Plus, they serve, dig and pass really well to set up the offense. And yeah, I don’t like them either, but you have to respect and admire their skills.


  25. Wop ur jaws December 18, 2014 8:29 pm

    Congrats to BYU and Penn St.. They played lights out. I am afraid setting is key to making it this far. Combine that with very tall, very quick, very smart two hitter pins and aggressive, tall, smart middles plus at least two defensive phenoms with great passing. UH has no chance to compete. They have too much deficits facing the starters. Both offensive and defensive systems UH implements will not counter these teams.


  26. Big Island VB fan December 18, 2014 9:51 pm

    13. Thanks for the advice but it won’t help me here since I have no TV hookup. There’s no cable in my area and I don’t have satellite dish either. But I did manage to watch the replays of both semifinals. Sure I was happy to see BYU upset Texas but sorry that Stanford faltered again against Penn State.

    Thus, I’m afraid that Penn State will win it out. BYU has one weak rotation. I wonder why doesn’t coach Olmstead have either Hamson or Gray in the front row but not both of them at the same time. Then at some point he had neither of them in the front row and that’s when they lose a lot of points in a row. Penn State will be able to exploit that weakness in a jiffy. Cinderella team will go down in three straight sets and I wish they’d prove me wrong.


  27. wildcard December 18, 2014 10:19 pm

    well its the lionesses vs the ‘kween’ lionesses (cougars vs nittany lions). the #1 blocking team with biggest player vs a ferocious setter and her ferocious pride led by a ‘tactical mastermind’. id like to see byu pull off the underdog champion to prove the size of jennifer hamson matters but know that byu is getting their most championships from a dynasty including undefeated to catching up with stanford and now surpassing them. how ever you see it, it seems penn state just gets stronger and stronger after being beaten since the preseason. they showed that losing the first set to wisconsin and then dominating the most part vs stanford.


  28. sasa December 19, 2014 12:37 am

    Hope we see an article on Alohi Robins Harding sometime soon. Our local girl is setting in the final four, and we haven’t had much coverage on SA, as well as this blog.


  29. Lanaiboy December 19, 2014 1:12 am

    Yeah. Talk about the bad rotation of all bad rotations. When Gray is substituted out and Hamson is stuck in the back row, the BYU offense just collapses and Texas makes its runs. BYU would be a super team if it had a third, strong offensive option, particularly at the L2. BYU is strong enough now, considering it is battling for the national title on Saturday!


  30. blunite December 19, 2014 7:46 am

    BYU’s block is not happenstance, like UH. It is the culmination of precise footwork, arm position, and reading of keys. It would do Shoji well to re-educate himself on the game’s finer points like blocking, hitting, setting, and digging techniques. The players can only improve if they know what the proper technique should be. Gone are the days when “everybody already knew how to play”, as Shoji described in his book.


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